28 January 1998
U.S. IS PREPARED TO ACT UNILATERALLY ON IRAQ, ALBRIGHT SAYS
(SecState to visit region to explain U.S. position) (750) By Jane A. Morse USIA Diplomatic Correspondent Washington -- Secretary of State Albright says the United States is prepared to use force unilaterally against Iraq if Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein does not allow full access to suspected weapons sites by U.N. inspectors. "It is our preference...to do everything multilaterally and act in concert with others," the Secretary of State said at a State Department press conference January 28 just before leaving on a trip that will take her to Europe and the Middle East. "But I am not going anywhere to seek support. I am going to explain our position. And while we prefer always to go multilaterally and have as much support as possible, we are prepared to go unilaterally." Albright will meet with Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine of France in Paris, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook of Britain in London and Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov in Madrid. She will also visit Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt before returning to Washington February 3. Iraq has been for months obstructing efforts by the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM) on Iraq which is charged with verifying whether or not Saddam Hussein has lived up to his obligations to destroy all Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. "We are making every effort to have him understand the message," Albright said, "and I have deliberately not said that the diplomatic string has run out. But what I'm also saying is that we have not ruled out any option." Albright emphasized that "there has been no decision to use force. We prefer the diplomatic route and all options are left open." Nonetheless, she added, "We are going to take action as we think appropriate in the timeframe that we think is appropriate." The Secretary of State said the United States is not seeking a resolution from the United Nations regarding Iraq. "We have made very clear that we have the authority to use military force...." Albright said the international community "must all act together" to insure that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction, saying that "we are all threatened by it in some form or another." The Secretary of State noted President Clinton's State of the Union Address, delivered January 27, in which he outlined the U.S. goal of making U.S. citizens safer from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Albright emphasized repeatedly the U.S. determination to deny Saddam Hussein the capacity to use weapons of mass destruction ever again. While the United Nations, using inspectors and monitors backed by sanctions and the threat of force, has succeeded in keeping Saddam Hussein in "a strategic box," it has not ended his "efforts to defy the will of the world," the Secretary of State said. "Saddam's goal is to have it both ways," Albright said. "To acheive a lifting of U.N. sanctions while retaining and enhancing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. "We cannot, we must not, and we will not let him succeed," the Secretary of State said. Albright catalogued Saddam Hussein's "record of aggression and lies," noting his having started two wars, his attempts to build nuclear weapons and his success in building and using chemical and biological arms. The world, she said, "must insist on a policy towards Saddam Hussein of 'don't trust; do verify.'" The Secretary also plans to visit Israel, the West Bank and Gaza to further discuss the Clinton Administration's proposals for getting the Middle East peace process back on track. (Clinton met in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu January 20 and with Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat January 22.) Albright said during her stay in Israel, "I will carry forward the ideas offered by the President and emphasize the urgent need for progress on the four-part agenda, which includes security, further redeployment, a time out on unhelpful unilateral steps, and launching permanent status negotiations." Albright acknowledged that at this point she is "neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the future of these negotiations. "I cannot be optimistic," she explained, "because leaders in the region remain reluctant to make the hard decisions and to offer the flexibility required to reach an agreement. "I cannot be pessimistic, because I'm convinced the majority of all faiths and communities in the region desire peace and that a basis exists for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement and, over time, a comprehensive Israeli-Arab settlement."
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